In This Together
by Scarbie
Summary: Leon realizes he needs a bigger and better gun while protecting Ashley. Who can he turn to?


Title: In This Together  
Characters: Leon, Ashley, and the Merchant  
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence  
Summary: Leon realizes he needs a bigger and better gun while protecting Ashley. Who can he turn to?

Disclaimer: Don't own Resident Evil 4. If I did, Leon would still be a red-head. Am I the only one that misses that?

"I can't keep doing this shit," Leon thought tiredly as he observed Ashley getting carted away yet again. "Leon! Leon! Save me!"

He did the hero thing for the forty-fifth time by cocking his boomstick and shooting the offending monk in the kneecaps. As soon as the young woman's feet touched the ground she ran towards her protector. When Leon aimed for the monk's head Ashley quickly moved out of the way and covered her ears. Ashley couldn't help that she was the cult's target but she made sure she didn't get in the way of his shots. That was one of the things Leon liked about her. He would make sure that she got out of this in one piece no matter what.

As the monk's brains splattered on the ground Ashley jumped in fright. Leon thought after seeing that so many times she would get used to it. But then again this kidnapping was her first and hopefully last exposure to grotesque inhuman creatures. Leon had been desensitized to that six years ago. As more monks entered the room, the former cop thought, "There has to be a better way than this." He holstered his shotgun and traded it for some incendiary grenades. He lobbed those in the direction of the sinister clergymen then grabbed Ashley's hand. The two quickly retreated from the room that was beginning to smell like burnt pork.

They ran as fast as they could pass the smaller group of cultists, ignoring the chants of, "¡Muere!" and the exclamations "¡Allí está!" Leon had heard the phrases uttered enough to get the point.

"Yeah, yeah. It's always, 'Die, die, die,' and 'there he is,' with you people," Leon thought. He had to get Ashley to some safe haven. It didn't seem like they would be able to hole up anywhere because the nutjobs kept coming. When a black robed cultist lunged towards Ashley as they rounded the corner, Leon shot him in the head using his Punisher. The cultist stumbled momentarily but was back to his old President's-daughter-grabbin' ways within three seconds. Before the possessed man could grab Ashley again, Leon fired four more times in rapid succession.

Leon held up the gun and looked at it in disappointment. "This gun is a piece of shi-" he cut the sentence short forgetting that he was in the presence of a lady.

Ashley appeared frazzled at first but looked up at him and smiled. "You act like I've never heard or said a cuss word before, Leon. If the gun's a piece of shit it's a piece of shit," saying the last bit in almost a sing-song voice.

Leon's mouth opened slightly in shock but he covered it up with a grin, "Alright, Ashley." He was tempted to call her, 'Your Highness' but that brought back memories of the recently deceased Luis. Even though he only knew the Spaniard for less than a day he had the feeling that they could have been friends.

He broke away from the depressing thoughts and focused on the present. "You got me!" He looked at the gun again and said, "I suppose you get what you pay for."

Ashley didn't have an eye for guns but was curious. "How much was it?"

Leon shrugged his shoulders. "I got it off the merchant for free. He said something about it blasting through multiple enemies. Sound good to me at the time but I don't want to risk your safety being a cheapskate. We need to get a better gun."

They followed the tell-tell blue lights to the merchant. Leon wondered what was up with this guy. Was it a family business and all the cousins looked alike or was it one guy with magical powers? How was it that he managed to survive all this time with the crazy possessed villagers running around cursing all the time? That gave Leon an idea.

After selling one of the flash grenades he found utterly useless he decided to ask the merchant a request.

"I'm getting hungry, Leon," Ashley announced.

He reached into his attaché case and took out one of the chicken eggs he got off a snake. "Here," he said, handing it over.

"It's raw!" Ashley said, scrunching her nose up in disgust.

Leon shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing I can do about that," he said sympathetically, "You'll get used to the taste."

Ashley sat down on a rock and stared hard at the egg almost as if that would make it hard-boiled.

Leon turned back to the weapons dealer. "Hey, man. Can you take her off of my hands for a moment?"

The only thing that gave impression of the Merchant's emotions were his eyes. Everything else was hidden beneath the blue and purple paisley print bandana. His eyes shifted towards the girl.

"What's in it for me."

"I got 80,000 pesetas," Leon said, sounding like he had the upper hand.

The merchant considered this offer for a moment and shook his head. "Not enough cash!"

"What? 80,000 pesetas! I bought that magnum for less than that."

"Yes, but that's useful, isn't it, Stranger? All that girl would bring me is problems."

"Look at her. She's cute," Leon said.

The merchant took a good look. "That she is. She sorta reminds me of what's that lass's name... Brittany Spears. But this girl's got some big... ears."

Leon thought he was about to say big breasts but maybe the Merchant wasn't as impressed by those as Luis was. R.I.P Luis.

The agent haggled for a few minutes longer but the Merchant was in his element. Leon didn't stand a chance. The salesman felt some pity for him and gave the younger man discounts on the first few upgrades on the Punisher. Leon seemed skeptical at first but the strange musical quality of the Merchant's voice helped convince the blond that he was getting a good deal.

Leon inspected the recently customized gun and holstered it. As he walked back to Ashley, he noticed that her nose was still scrunched up but the egg was gone.

"You ready to go?" he asked the girl in a soft voice.

When she sighed, he almost regretted interrupting her thoughts of trivial things like how nasty raw eggs were.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She gave him a fragile smile and all he could do was smile back.

They were in this together.

* * *

**A/N**:Oh, so corny! lol 

This story started off as just being practice for writing the Merchant. He was supposed to have a bigger part but I noticed that it was turning into a nice Leon and Ashley centered story and decided to keep it that way. I don't see them as a romantic couple but I loved their interaction in the game. The Merchant will have his day… one of these, uh, days. I hope you enjoyed reading it! As always, feedback is appreciated!


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